The foreign minister, David Lee, has said he will personally ask Japan’s Kyodo News to correct an erroneous report. The news agency had claimed that Taiwan plans in July to lift a ban on food imports from the area affected by the meltdown of a nuclear plant in 2011.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare confirmed on Tuesday that the ban on imports from five cities and counties in the Fukushima area will remain in place for the time being.
Tsai Ming-yao, head of the Association of East Asian Relations under the foreign ministry, said he had also notified Japan’s representative in Taiwan about the report. Tsai confirmed there would be a scheduled Taiwan-Japan trade meeting in July and that it was possible the issue would be addressed. He said however that it was premature to predict an outcome.
Tsai said, “This is an issue that either side may raise but we’ll have to see what the results of the meeting will be. Sometimes decisions can’t be made at these meetings, as food imports fall squarely under the purview of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.”
The import ban was introduced owing to fears of radioactive contamination from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi power plant meltdown.